Saturday, in two different parts of the world, and different time zones, arguably WWE’s best pro wrestler and likely Japan’s best stole major shows.
They also epitomized the difference between the two products—and then sent very public messages teasing a match that many would have called impossible a few months back.
Will Ospreay, the United States and United Kingdom champion for New Japan Pro-Wrestling headlined Power Struggle at the Edion Arena in Osaka. In a dramatic thriller that went just over 40 minutes, Ospreay retained his title over Shota Umino, a young wrestler who is considered something of a protégé of AEW’s Jon Moxley.
Hours later, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins stole the show in retaining his championship against Drew McIntyre.
And when both were over, Ospreay sent out a tweet of a photo of Rollins that noted he was still champion. Rollins, seeing that, responded with four words: “The water is warm.”
The water is warm.
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) November 4, 2023
Back in 2019, the two argued on Twitter over who was the best, which ended in Rollins bringing up their respective paychecks and then very humbly apologizing for going in that direction, just saying he was standing up for his company.
This weekend’s interplay was not at all contentious and had potential story line meaning since Ospreay’s New Japan contract expires at the end of January. It’s widely expected he will wind up with either WWE or AEW. While virtually every company of any size would want Ospreay, they are the only two that likely can afford the numbers it should take to get him.
Many had thought it was a given that Ospreay would end up with AEW. He got the biggest response of anyone on the company’s biggest show in history Aug. 27 at Wembley Stadium in London, where he beat Chris Jericho in a first-time-ever match. He was so moved by that event, held in his home city, that he tattooed “81,035” on his arm, which was the paid attendance for that show and the largest paid attendance for any pro wrestling event in history.
AEW felt like the better fit for Ospreay in terms of style, since the wrestling is less patterned and restrictive in scope. AEW offers more control of in-ring creativity. But WWE is the largest wrestling company in the world, and with its greater exposure and larger platform, if one does click big, the potential is there to be a bigger international star.
AEW would also allow Ospreay to continue to work major shows in Japan. Bryan Danielson and Moxley are doing just that at the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom event Jan. 4 at the Tokyo Dome. Another of AEW’s top stars, Chris Jericho, is on a major show this coming Sunday with the DDT promotion in Japan. WWE wrestlers can work only WWE.
The fact that Ospreay had made several appearances for AEW was another reason the company appeared to be the favorite to sign him. But WWE’s interest is well known, and the Rollins tease shows he is considering that possibility. At a press conference Friday, Ospreay strongly indicated he wouldn’t be in New Japan much longer and implored Umino to be one of the guys who had to step up and fill the void.
Ospreay’s match vs. Umino and Rollins vs. McIntyre exemplified the differences between a classic match under the New Japan style and the WWE style. Ospreay vs. Umino was a dramatic thriller. The crispness of the moves and solid hard-hitting were there. In watching the match, you got both men doing their moves, but you had double and even triple switch-ups from what you would be expecting. It came across as both art and a violent fight. There was some high-risk stuff, but certainly not like a younger Ospreay. It also took on many elements of mixed martial arts, and the kicks and chops sounded like gunshots firing. In the end, it was a battle of exhaustion. If there was a negative in what was among the year’s best matches, and maybe best matches of all time, it was that down the stretch the two would crawl and bonk their heads together, doing far too real headbutts. The spots absolutely added to the drama, but this generation needs to be smarter than the previous one about protecting their brains for the future. The two would have had just as classic a match without them.
When it was over, the two men bowed to each other. Challenges were issued to Umino’s mentor, Moxley, and Ospreay, for the Tokyo Dome event, the biggest show of the year in Japan.
And then one more twist was added.
David Finlay, one of New Japan’s top heels and the leader of the famed Bullet Club faction, hit Moxley and Ospreay with a shillelagh. He then took a sledgehammer and smashed up both the U.S. and U.K. belts that Ospreay had been defending in classic matches. Ospreay was not selling being knocked out, but he was hit so hard he couldn’t get up and stop it. The scene ended with Ospreay picking up a broken part of one of the belts.
Rollins and McIntyre had the patterned WWE pay-per-view championship match. Both men did their expected big spots. Their spots are hammered home on television every week, and most fans know them—and expect them. There were a few key spots where one would counter the other’s finishers and big moves. It wasn’t anywhere near the drama and was less than half as long. Each did their normal finish, the curb stomp by Rollins and Claymore kick by McIntyre that almost always ends their television matches, but WWE big-match style is the kick out of each. It was the person who hits the big move the second time, in this case Rollins, who has been the one who wins the match. It was refreshing because WWE matches are usually based on outside interference and distraction. It’s not that New Japan doesn’t have that. It does, just not as often.
With WWE, it’s multiple matches on almost every show and it’s what the audience is trained to accept.
In the actual main event, Roman Reigns beat LA Knight, a unique rising star who has suddenly hit the spotlight at the age of 41 after decades toiling in smaller companies under other names. As with every Reigns main event on big shows this year, and most the year before, it was filled with interference from various real-life cousins.
WWE counts on fans being outraged by these main events. The belief is that making the customers furious actually makes them even more invested in the product. And you can’t argue with the results. It has led to company live events drawing bigger gates than any time in its history.
The question becomes how much outrage can you elicit before the outrage becomes expected and thus is no longer outrage. There was that genuine reaction after Reigns’s big-show title matches this year with Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.
WWE used the same formula here, but the reaction was very different. People expected and accepted it. Deep down, everyone knew Uso wasn’t winning the title, but they were still mad when it didn’t happen. With Rhodes, they expected he would win, which made them furious when wrong. With Zayn, deep down people should have known he wouldn’t win, but the build and atmosphere were such that there was a belief it was possible, and people were furious at that result as well. Oddsmakers (yes, there is betting on WWE matches in the U.K.) pegged Reigns as a 50-to-1 favorite.
Now the question becomes: What is next? Reigns won’t have another major show title match until the Royal Rumble in January, which sets up WrestleMania. Rhodes looks to be the favorite to headline the second night at Mania in Philadelphia against Reigns, in what would be the biggest marquee position of 2024. Another Reigns cousin, Solo Sikoa, the younger brother of Jey Uso, who scored a shockingly clean win over legend John Cena on Saturday, is very clearly a future opponent. The split between the cousins has had very subtle teases for months. It’s a given it’s happening, but far from predictable as to when.
Action star hero Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 50, formerly the biggest star in the wrestling business, recently teased the idea of a match with Reigns in Philadelphia. But that’s a long shot, given that Johnson had first dibs on that spot last year and in the end it didn’t happen. It would require Johnson to have the time to get into ring shape and also clear out his schedule as to not have major movie work immediately afterward due to the injury risk. Johnson hasn’t done a serious match in nearly 11 years. The reason is the injuries he suffered in his 2013 match with Cena were severe enough that they had to move back filming of the movie Hercules. But a match with Reigns is a spot he would likely have should he want it.
